The Boston Celtics aim to force a Game 7 with a win at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
The pregame narrative: Boston won’t have Jayson Tatum for its comeback quest, which is obviously a significant blow. Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have another shot to take advantage and can advance to the Eastern Conference finals with a win.
Check out my Celtics vs. Knicks SGP predictions for Game 6 on May 16, featuring Jalen Brunson and Jaylen Brown.
Celtics vs. Knicks predictions
Parlay: Knicks moneyline | Brunson over 2.5 threes | Brown over 1.5 threes (+350)
Knicks moneyline (-139): A series that the Celtics were already trailing took an even worse turn when Jayson Tatum went down with a season-ending injury with three minutes remaining in Game 4.
Boston battled hard for its fallen teammate in Game 5, winning by 25 points at TD Garden.
The home side played inspired basketball, shooting 52% from the field (45% from three). Additionally, all six Celtics who played over 24 minutes shot above 50%.
That performance will be tough to replicate in a hostile road environment, though.
I’m expecting a bounce-back effort from the Knicks in the Big Apple and a let-down performance from the Tatum-less Celtics.
New York is 3-0 after a loss in the NBA playoffs.
NBA SGP legs
Brunson over 2.5 threes (-137): The star point guard had a down performance in Game 5, scoring 22 points in 32 minutes before fouling out in the final quarter.
That was his lowest minutes workload in these playoffs, so the positive is extra rest off the back of a bad game.
Brunson has also been very good in bounce-back opportunities.
He has fallen under 2.5 threes five times in the postseason. Look at his averages in the game after the first four:
- 34.0 PPG
- 37.8 3PT%
- 4-0 against this wager
Brunson has been balling for the Knicks all postseason, scoring 29.4 PPG while averaging 7.1 attempts from beyond the arc.
He’s making 2.7 threes per game and has a history of having above-average performances after a bad shooting night.
Brown over 1.5 threes (-186): With Tatum out, Brown is the No. 1 option in Boston.
Even when his teammate is in, this is a line Brown clears regularly. He’s drained two or more triples in four of the five games in this series.
His volume is up, as he’s attempting 7.2 threes per game in this series. Compare that to his 5.7 average attempts during the regular season.
If he totals that amount again tonight, his 33.3% 3-point accuracy should be good enough to push him past this modest total.
Boston will continue to need elevated production to replace Tatum’s 21.9 field-goal attempts per game.
Brown is the top candidate to fill the role. He should continue to let it fly with his Celtics needing a win to stay alive.
Knicks vs. Celtics predictions made at 11:45 a.m. ET 05/16/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.